Water Fountains Shut Off in Newton Parks

On May 17, the City was notified that an external drinking fountain at Family Access of Newton was found to have elevated lead levels. This fountain was turned off. After learning about this, the City decided to proactively test 7 public drinking fountains in the City’s parks to determine whether further action needed to be taken on external fountains. This testing took place on June 10th.

The results, received June 23, showed that 5 of 7 fountains tested were above the actionable level. These fountains are:

Cabot Park hardball field drinking fountain

Cabot Park softball field drinking fountain

Cabot Park tennis court drinking fountain

Crystal Lake bathhouse

Gath Pool right, rear drinking fountain

Department of Public Works immediately turned off the water to these 5 fountains and Department of Parks and Recreation began supplying bottled water at Crystal Lake and Gath Pool. The City also began evaluating potential options for remediation or additional testing. On June 29, based on the high proportion of tested fountains with elevated lead levels from this screening round, the City chose to turn off external fountains at the following locations:

Albemarle

Angier Park

Auburndale Cove

Bowen Park

Boyd Park

Burr Park

Cabot Park

Crystal Lake

Davis School

Emerson Playground

Farlow Park

Forte Park

Franklin School

Gath Pool

Hawthorne Park

Hyde Park

LFCC

Lyon’s Cove

Magni Colletti Park

Memorial Spaulding School

Nahanton Park Fieldhouse

New Cold Spring

Newton Centre Park

Newton Highlands Park

Peirce School

Police Park

Richardson Playground

Solomon Schecter

Stearns Playground

Upper Falls Playground

Ward Park

Warren House Park

Warren Lincoln Park

Wellington Playground

West Newton Common

We are currently evaluating options for remediation of these outdoor fountains. To make informed choices on next steps, we need public input. Please take a short survey at www.newtonma.gov/watersurveyto let us know how you and your family use the outdoor public drinking fountains. If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns, please email us at: drinkingwater@newtonma.gov. In the meantime, we are asking you to bring your own drinks when you visit our parks.

The safety of children and families is of the highest importance to us. We hope to hear from you and find solutions that meet residents’ needs and expectations.